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Applications for heating assistance in Lackawanna County are running ahead of last year's pace, possibly as a result of a colder start to winter.

With nearly three months still to go for qualifying households to seek cash grants under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, 4,372 applications have been approved in the county, said Anne Bale, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Welfare, which administers the program.

That compares to 3,508 approved grants at this time last year, she said. In all, 7,034 county households received cash grants during the winter of 2011-12.

"We are seeing the same level of need," Ms. Bale said Friday. "It is a little colder than last year, so the numbers are up a bit, but it is nothing extraordinary."

LIHEAP cash grants helps hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania families who meet the income guidelines to pay their heating bills. The program opened Nov. 1 and is scheduled to run until March 29.

A second component - the crisis grant program - began Wednesday. Crisis grants aid households with emergency needs, such as an inoperable furnace or a lack of fuel.

As of Friday, 20 crisis grants had been approved, compared to 32 during the same period in 2012. Ms. Bale said that number is expected to grow rapidly as winter deepens and temperatures plummet.

"There is no real surge yet," she said, noting there were 1,727 crisis grants distributed in the county in 2012.

The state expects to receive $209 million from the federal government for this winter's LIHEAP program. While that is down from 2011-12, last year's relatively mild winter also left that the state with a surplus $84 million that it can roll into this year's program, Ms. Bale said.

At this point, everything suggests the department will be able to continue LIHEAP through its projected March 29 end date if not extend it into April, she said.

"There are no worries and we continue to urge people to apply," Ms. Bale said.

For more information on the LIHEAP program, or to download an application, visit the Department of Public Welfare's website at www.dpw.state.pa.us and click on "For Adults."

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